Kara Tur

Timeline

Empire of Shou Lung is the largest of the many lands that make up Kara-Tur. It is a place of learning, culture and government, with a proud history that chronicles nearly three thousand years, spanning the rise and fall of eight great Dynasties and over seventy Emperors.

The First Age of Shou Lung – Anok-Imaskar

• -2487 DR: Following the fall of Inupras and the collapse of the western Imaskar Empire, the eastern provinces of Khati and Katakoro endure. Bearing Dhonas’s Shroud, one of the seven False Imaskarcana, the artificer Kujawa claims the Dragon Throne at Thakos and declares himself Emperor of Anok-Imaskar. Scholars mark this as the start of the First Age of Shou Lung.
• -2320 DR: The Rashemi warrior Soss leads members of his clan north to explore and trade with the dwarves of Dareth. They settle the alpine valleys of the Armridge Mountains and over time become known as the Sossrim.
• c. -2300 DR: Great prosperity expands the borders of Anok-Imaskar to cover a vast area, from the Celestial Sea in the North to the Segara Sea in the South.
• Emperor Kujawa establishes a second capital at Tempat Larang to govern the empire’s southern lands.
• -2113 DR: An eruption at Mount Bakos blankets Tempat Larang in lava and ash. In the decades following the disaster, Anok-Imaskar begins abandoning its south-western lands.
• -1943 DR: Emperor Kujawa dies in a combat against the celestial dragon T`ien Lung. Anok-Imaskar dissolves into several warring states, among them Ra-Khati, Chu ’ta Te, Mai Yuan, and Kao Shan.

The Second Age of Shou Lung – The First Kingdom of Shou

• -1887 DR: Chan Cheng unifies the warring states along the Ch`ing Tung River from the Imperial City of Ten Mor Shou, beginning the Second Age of Shou Lung. Blessed by the Celestial One, Chan Cheng becomes the first of the Nine Immortals.
• -1648 DR: Human hunters from the northern reaches of Kara-Tur travel west across the polar ice cap and settle for a time with the Sossrim before moving on to the Great Glacier in search of game. After becoming lost, they set up permanent settlements and become the precursors of the Ulutiuns.
• -1377 DR: Using powerful Imaskari artefacts unearthed in the ruins of Thakos, the artificer Tan Chin assassinates the Sapphire Empress Kwan Ying and assumes the throne of Shou Lung. The new emperor renames Ten Mor Shou to Kuo Meilan, after his consort.
• -1370 DR: Earliest record of the Black Leopard Cult. Cult history says that the Black Leopard and his followers are eternal and immortal, having advised the Nine Travellers when they ruled the lands of Kara-Tur. This is the earliest written mention of the cult, noting that it had temples all along the Fenghsintzu River. Its major temple was at Durkon.
• -1365 DR: Using the Jade Mirror, Emperor Tan Chin and his friend Kar Wuan trick Pao Hu Jen the Guardian into flying to the lands of the horse barbarians where they transform the dragon into the Great Dragonwall of Shou Lung.
• -1289 DR: The immortal Chih Shih leads a revolt against Tan Chin and drives the emperor from Kuo Meilan, ending the Second Age of Shou Lung. Fleeing to Raurin, Tan Chin begins searching for lost Imaskari artefacts.
• The Nine Immortals decimate the land of Chu’ta Te, forcing the people south into what is now known as the Sheng Ti Province. Here the refugees of the First Kingdom mix with the locals and learn about rice farming.

The Third Age of Shou Lung – The Empire of Shou

• -1029 DR: Death of Nung Fu. His great-grandson becomes the first Emperor Chin of the Li Dynasty (Dynasty of Might) in Shou Lung.
• The Imperial Capital is refounded in Hsi Feng
• -930 DR: The Black Leopard Cult reaches its zenith, the power of its kio ton mu (mystic witch doctors) held in more fear and reverence than that of the Shou Lung emperor in the lands of T’u Lung.
• -868 DR: Unification of the western provinces of Shou Lung under the Emblems of Imperial Authority, the emperor’s symbols of office.
• The Emperor appoints many court scribes to deal with the administration necessary to control a growing empire.
• -855 DR: Crushing of the Sea Lords’ Revolt in Karatin Province consolidates power in Shou Lung beneath the Emblems of Imperial Authority.
• -842 DR: Seventh Emperor Chin of the Li Dynasty declares the Gathering of Waters, an attempt to bring the land fed by all the major rivers in Shou Lung under the sway of the Emblems of Imperial Authority. Shou Lung armies invade the Fenghsintzu Valley.
• -839 DR: Surrender of the Grey Owl tribes in the north secures the present northern boundary of the Shou Lung empire.
• -837 DR: Agents of Emperor Chin discover the Impossible Palace of Silver Domes in the north-east part of Arkarin Province in Shou Lung.
• -836 DR: The Battle of Infinite Darkness, at the mouth of Fenghsintzu. Combined leadership of the southern tribes under the kio ton mu challenges the forces of General Wo Can. The entire battle is fought under the cover of darkness spells, and legends say that the kio ton mu summoned fell and dangerous beasts from the other side of the world to aid them. In the end, Wo Can’s army routs the southern tribes. The great southern scholar Po Nih dies in this battle, struck by a spear as he was writing a report to send to the main temple of Durkon.
• -830 DR: Wo Can’s forces destroy the temple of the Black Leopard Cult at the mouth of the Fenghsintzu River in Durkon, ending resistance in Shou Lung’s southern provinces (later to become T’u Lung). The records say that the temple itself was sunk to the lowest depths of the earth. The kio ton mu are said to have either been slain or fled to distant lands. One legend in particular states that a high priest journeyed unseen down the Fenghsintzu and made his way out to sea.
• -815 DR to -810 DR: The War of the Nobles: During this time, the arrogant nobles delegate more of their authority to clerics of the Faith of the Nine Travellers. Court Scribes embrace the faith as their own and find ways to play noble houses off against each other
• -815 DR: Shou Lung establishes the “Eighteen Garrisons of T’u” in the T’u Lung lands. These military bases are instrumental in establishing Shou customs in the southern regions.
• -810 DR: Teachings of the Path of Enlightenment first appear in the stone bluffs above the mouth of the Hungtse River in Shou Lung. The meter-high characters are blasted into the solid granite by reddish lightning during a firestorm witnessed throughout the continent. Though the skies are ablaze with light, the vegetation and people near the Hungtse are unharmed. The ancestors of the emperor are said initially to refute these teachings.
• -760 DR: By this time the power of the nobility in government had been broken and taken by the court scribes of the Li Dynasty.
• -670 DR Year of Unfurled Sails: The last Emperor Chin of the Li Dynasty in Shou Lung dies without heir. Defying his ancestors, he passes on the affairs of office to his wu jen advisor, a follower of the Path of Enlightenment. The advisor becomes the first Emperor Chin of the Ho (Peace) Dynasty.
• -669 DR Year of Summer Frosts: First Emperor Chin of the Ho Dynasty proclaims the Organization of Thought, in which he seeks to make the Path of Enlightenment the only faith of Shou Lung. The Time of Contentions begins, as rival faiths battle each other in the bureaucracy, among the populace, and finally on the battlefield as temple militias contest in small civil wars.
• The Emperor formally establishes the Bureaucracy with the Sage Lao Chin-Mao as its leader. Civil Service Examinations are begun for the first time this year.
• Nobles squabble among themselves for position and power (as a result of the manipulation of the Bureaucracy), over the years these squabbles erupt into many bloody feuds, the most terrible battles taking place in the Ti Erte Province.
• -649 DR Year of Falling Copper: In Shou Lung, the Impossible Palace of the Silver Domes disappears. That which remains is renamed the Field of Burnished Bronze.
• Before -620 DR: The Hungtse Province is founded by nobles fleeing the feuds of Ti Erte and Sheng Ti Provinces. Without their armies the exiled nobility settle to become farming communities.
• -620 DR Year of Noble Souls: In Shou Lung, the first Emperor Chin of the Ho Dynasty perishes mysteriously, along with his son. The grandson becomes the second Emperor Chin and announces the Time of Sharing Meals. Temple militias are outlawed and religious freedom encouraged. The Time of Contentions ends, and the Path of Enlightenment is established as the official faith of Shou Lung. This edict is less effective in the south, but the Path of Enlightenment becomes the major faith over the next thousand years.
• -619 DR: The Imperial Capital is moved from Hsi-Feng to Hai Sheng
• -547 DR Year of Toppled Trees: In Shou Lung, the first recorded appearance of the Giants in Grey — huge humanoid figures dressed in concealing grey cloaks and accompanied by thick fog. A massive earthquake destroys the province they are sighted in soon after their appearance.
• -420 DR: Year of Manacles: In Shou Lung, the last of the Ho Dynasty is humbled before the armies of the Sea Lords of the maritime Karatin Province. The warlord of that province ascends the throne as the first Emperor Chin of the Hai (Ocean) Dynasty.
• First Emperor Chin of the Hai Dynasty orders the Karatin Province to be drained and diked, transforming it into a fertile basin which is renamed to the Hai Yuan Province.
• -417 DR Year of Harbour’s Lights: When the Kasada line collapses for lack of an heir, the regency searches for a suitable relative and settles on the Goshukara family. The first emperor of Goshukara is crowned on the island nation of Wa.
• The Wa calendar begins.
• -394 DR Year of Clouded Vision: The island of Wa is discovered by the empires to the west (Shou Lung and T’u Lung). Cham Ko Hag, a native of T’u Lung, is the mariner credited with the discovery. (His nationality is usually obscured in Shou Lung texts.)
• -392 DR Year of Lanterns: The Giants in Grey are sighted in the Imperial Compound in Shou Lung.
• -391 DR Year of Squalid Scarecrows: The Ivory Plague strikes Shou Lung. The Imperial Capital of Hai Sheng is struck hard and the Imperial family are decimated. After the Imperial family leave Hai Sheng a kirin appears to save the remaining inhabitants of Hai Sheng.
• In Shou Lung, the first Emperor Chin of the Hai Dynasty and his household die from the Ivory Plague. The emperor’s young grandson survives, as does the emperor’s sister. She masquerades as the emperor, aided in this ruse by the bureaucracy and various good spirits, until the grandson is old enough to rule. The emperor’s sister then reveals her true identity and flees the city, never to be seen again. Her rule is now recognized as that of the second Emperor Chin, and her grandnephew is considered the third Emperor Chin of the Hai Dynasty. From this time on, if no male heirs are of age, it is custom for a suitable female heir to rule until a male heir comes of age. The ruler is referred to as emperor, regardless of sex.
• The Ivory Plague decimates the Imperial Capital at Hai Sheng and it is abandoned. The Imperial family move to the nearby small city of Kuo Te’Lung, Court Architect Sum Ma Ling is ordered to design the Forbidden City.
• -382 DR: The Court Architect Sum Ma Ling completes his design of the Forbidden City.
• -381 DR: Year of Fallen Goats: Construction of the Forbidden City is completed. The Capital of Shou Lung is moved to Kuo Te’ Lung. Pingchow becomes a mecca for intellectual dissidents and scholars.
• -315 DR Year of Vengeance: Hu Ling Do of T’u Lung writes his famous Hsao Chronicles. His writings encourage a strong following of the Way in the south.
• -280 DR Year of the Impudent Kin: In Shou Lung, pirate activities in the Celestial Sea result in proclamation by the sixth Emperor Chin of the Hai Dynasty of the Scattering of Winds, demanding that the warlords of the island of Wa swear fealty to the emperor. They refuse, and the emperor begins massing his fleet.
• -278 DR Year of the Ruling Sceptre: Wa builds castles and fortifies its coastline in anticipation of an invasion from the King of the Western Lands.
• -275 DR Year of the Grinning Pack: Multiple attacks by Shou Lung against the various strongholds of Wa result in capture of the north and south. The sixth Emperor Chin moves against the centre with land armies and the collection of his fleets.
• -274 DR to -225 DR: Cycle of Black Years: In T’u Lung, this period is marked by continual invasions from the south, incursions by petty lords from the north, blights, floods on the Fenghsintzu, and crop failures. Only regions where the local feudal lords remain in power retain some semblance of order. It is from these feudal lords that the barons of the south take their mandate to rule. Here is the first mention in records of the Wai and Yang clans, which were to shape the recent history of the nation.
• It is during this period where no emperor commands the Empire of Shou Lung, the Emblems of Authority are sealed in a crypts beneath the Imperial City and not recovered until -225 DR with the founding of the Kao Dynasty.
• -274 DR Year of the Purring Pard: Death of the sixth and last Emperor Chin of the Hai Dynasty of Shou Lung and his court in the last battle of Wa. The Shou Lung land armies overrun the Wa forces, but the emperor’s fleet runs aground on reefs hidden by the dweomercraft of the opposing warlords’ wu jen. The ship’s pilot, a gaijin named Rourke, recovers the Emblems of Imperial Authority but is slain upon return to the Imperial City. The Emblems disappear, and the Black Cycle of Years begins.
• -273 DR Year of the Dancing Faun: Following years of tension with Shou Lung, General Ysohibei of the island nation of Wa accepts a truce from the Shou Lung governor of the north and sets himself up as warlord of the province. For the next century, Wa is wracked by warfare, beginning with conflicts between the nobles of Wa and the Shou Lung governors. Eventually, the Shou Lung governors become indistinguishable from their subjects, owing more allegiance to the Emperor of Wa than to the Emperor of Shou Lung. During this time the Order of the Snake, a mysterious organization of powerful warriors, gains footholds in all levels of the new governments.
• -270 DR Year of the Winter Wolf: The Giants in Grey are reported throughout the Shou Lung empire. Crops fail as a blight strikes the coastal lowlands.
• -265 DR Year of Burgeoning Victory: A criminal family in Kai Shan seizes control of the city, declaring their own sovereignty. Such city-states are common during the Black Cycle of Years, but Kai Shan survives semi-independent to this day, because it aided and supported Wo Mai, a noble from a neighbouring province, in his adventures.
• -248 DR: Beginning of the reign of the Copper Demon of Tros, who held a large section of western Shou Lung in his thrall for eight years, ruling the land in a brutal fashion.
• -246 DR Year of Much Cheer: In Shou Lung, the Impossible Palace of the Silver Domes reappears for two weeks, then disappears again.
• -240 DR Year of Enslaved Swords: End of the reign of the Copper Demon of Tros, who held a large section of western Shou Lung in his thrall for eight years, ruling the land in a brutal fashion. The beast is slain by the Seven Heroes and the Seven Nonmen. Wo Mai is reported as one of the Heroes.
• -225 DR Year of the Golden Staff: The Black Cycle of Years ends in Shou Lung with the coronation of Wo Mai, a noble claiming descent from Nung Fu himself. Wo Mai recovers the Emblems of Imperial Authority from the crypts beneath the Imperial City, rallies the armies and other nobles, and crushes the rebellious outlying provinces. Wo Mai becomes the first Emperor Chin of the Kao (High) Dynasty.
• -224 DR Year of the Forked Tongues: Defeat of the last invading southern tribes by Shou Lung allows the empire to re-establish its control in the south. The Black Leopard Cult, a secret society working to aid peasants, is displaced by the warring forces.
• -223 DR Year of Burning Briars: Hui-Po, a wu jen advisor to the emperor of Wa, attempts to create a magical portal capable of whisking the emperor to safety in the event of an insurrection. In the process, Hui-Po inadvertently gates himself to a mysterious place known as Qui. Unnoticed by the officers, Hui-Po gathers a quantity of silk from the multicoloured bushes and returns to Wa. Hui-Po creates four scarves of transport to Qui from the silk, but before he informs the emperor of his creations, Hui-Po and his assistants are killed in a violent coup attempt. The scarves of transport are never used; their origin and function remain a mystery. They are eventually lost and forgotten, scattered throughout Wa and possibly elsewhere in Kara-Tur.
• -178 DR Year of the Cold Quarrel: In Shou Lung, the second Emperor Chin on his ascendancy declares the Spreading of Knowledge, also known as the Opening of Wa. Orders are given to pacify and redirect the population of Wa in Shou Lung ways. Distrustful of each other and weakened by a century of war, the daimyos of Wa are easy prey. The Order of the Snake secretly assists with the invasion. Some of the order’s members refuse to participate in the betrayal and form their own faction called the Order of the Mouse. Small in number, the Order of the Mouse is unable to rally support and retires to the wilderness, where it covertly attempts to thwart the efforts of the Order of the Snake.
• -73 DR Year of Swift Courtships: Ascension of Mori, first emperor of the Kozakuran people in Shou Lung.
• 80 DR Year of the Mordant Blight: Invasion of the Horse Barbarians. The fifth Emperor Chin of the Kao Dynasty and an army made up mostly of T’u Lung troops rout the invaders in the Battle of the Silver Grasslands.
• 134 DR Year of the Impassable Chasm: The Shou mariner Wan Ko Hei discovers Kozakura, and is presented to Emperor Koshu at the Kozakuran capital at Fukama.
• 251 DR Year of the Strange Seedlings: The Shou Lung are driven from Wa by Nitta Shogoro, the Hidden Shogun. The Order of the Mouse produces evidence to Nitta showing that the Order of the Snake assisted with the Shou Lung invasion, but the Order of the Snake leaders go underground before Nitta can take action against them. Civil war rocks the island for more than 200 years before a stable government emerges, but the various petty warlords of Wa present a unified front against the “outland invaders.”
• 253 DR Year of Sombre Smiles: The twelfth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung’s Kao Dynasty, faced with defeat in Wa, declares The Unleashing of Shackles. Wa is recognized as an independent state, and the tattered remains of the Shou Lung Regiment of the Grey Blossom are withdrawn from Wa. Many monuments are erected in the capital declaring the wondrous nature of the emperor as the sage emancipator of noble foreign peoples.
• On the Nights of the Screaming Demons, a six-day span in autumn, major cities along the Fenghsintzu River in T’u Lung are visited by great, roaring spirits that chase people from the streets. The next morning, several prominent bureaucrats are discovered missing. Those missing were noted for their incompetence and corruption, so their passing was noted only to make the other bureaucrats more responsive to the people’s needs. The autobiography of a H’sin-to crime lord, published in 295 DR, links the Black Leopard Cult to the Screaming Demons, but no other mention is made.
• 511 DR Year of the Fortress Scoured: The Sixteenth Emperor Chin of the Kao Dynasty in Shou Lung declares The Revealing of Scrolls. The discussion of knowledge is encouraged, and many rival schools are established. The sciences of astronomy, alchemy, and geomancy are in a golden age. Priests of the Path of Enlightenment are dispatched to the far reaches of the globe, setting up shrines as far away as Kozakura. (In Kozakura, the faith is known as the Way of Enlightenment, much to the mutual embarrassment of Shou Lung followers of the Path of Enlightenment, and its rival faith, the Way).
• 560 DR Year of the Unknown Truth: The Impossible Palace of the Silver Domes reappears briefly in Shou Lung, but disappears again before investigation can occur.
• 521 DR: Centuries of overbearing taxes and garrisons cause the Yu’I province to rebel against the Empire of Shou Lung. The rebellion is crushed but the Sixteenth Emperor Chin of the Kao Dynasty later withdraws most of his garrisons and allows the Yu people a greater amount of self determination.
• 631 DR Year of the Lone Lark: The wasting sickness sweeps the continent of Shou Lung. In dealing with the emergency, local lords are granted more power in the bureaucracy, particularly in the hard-hit southern provinces.
• 645 DR Year of the Costly Gift: Incursion of jungle barbarians results in the appointment of a T’u Lung native as captain of a Shou Lung garrison post. Over the next five hundred years, more and more natives of the southern provinces come to the fore in the military.
• 670 DR Year of the Many Floods: In Shou Lung, an invasion of southern barbarians overruns the We’peng garrison and Kahgang Su. For the first time local forces outnumber those loyal to the emperor in the armies repelling the invasion. The invasion ends suddenly and the barbarian forces retreat. The cause of the retreat is unknown, but guessed to be the death or other loss of the barbarians’ charismatic leader. Many of the clan militias and mercenary forces formed during this invasion remain in place after this time.
• 800 DR Year of the Black Fist: The last ruler of the Kao Dynasty and his family perish in a fire that sweeps the old Imperial City in Shou Lung. His third cousin Ton Bor becomes the first emperor of the La (Wax) Dynasty, a period of widespread corruption and mismanagement. The reigns of this emperor and those that follow in his dynasty are controlled by rival factions and secret societies, and the name of the dynasty has been given to it by the successor Kuo Dynasty to reflect the malleability of its rulers. (Its own name was Yin [Silver], but that name has been eradicated from all tomes in the empire, and only survives in records in Kozakura and other lesser states.)
• 803 DR Year of the Reaching Hand: The Yang clan takes control of the Tyu Ton garrison, replacing Shou Lung troops with those loyal to Yang. There is widespread feeling that the La Dynasty is insufficient for the task of controlling an empire, and most garrisons are infiltrated by secret societies, including the Black Leopard Cult, which makes a resurgence during this time.
• 988 DR Year of the Meddling Avatar: Wai Fu Hong leads a group of cities in revolt against imperial taxes. Instead of reprisal, the throne negotiates, concentrating instead on not spreading the news of the revolt. T’u Lung nobles (as they think themselves now, a separate entity from the corrupt northerners) are encouraged by the perceived weakness of the imperial court.
• 1044 DR Year of Singing Shards: Two of the concubines of the thirteenth Emperor Chin of the La Dynasty give birth within hours of each other. Otherwise childless and without heir, factions begin gathering over the succession. Southern courtiers ally with the infant Shin Gisen, while the bureaucracy and army support the “twin” Shin Lu.
• 1060 DR Year of Fantastic Spectacle: The Last Emperor of the La Dynasty in Shou Lung takes ill, but refuses to name an heir to the throne, fearing that he might meet an untimely end if he did. The southern lords in T’u Lung begin mobilizing their armies, and those southern garrisons that have remained loyal to the Shou are overthrown.
• 1062 DR Year of the Shattered Lance: The seventh and last Emperor Chin of the La Dynasty dies without recognizing either son as heir. The provincial army and bureaucracy favour Shin Lu, while the southern nobles and courtiers back the more malleable Shin Gisen. War breaks out, and the La castle and the new imperial capital are burned.
• 1065 DR Year of the Watching Wood: The Battle of Crimson Wheat: Shin Gisen’s forces are destroyed, but the victorious Shin Lu’s forces are too weak to pursue. Shin Lu returns to the old capital with the Emblems of Imperial Authority and becomes the first Emperor Chin of the Kuo (Nation) Dynasty. His first directive is to offer to supporters of Shin Gisen the Choice of Blades: Die or flee to the south to the strongholds held by Shin Gisen’s nobles.
• 1066 DR Year of the Lord’s Dilemma: Shin Gisen is made the first emperor of the Lui Dynasty, officially forming the nation of T’u Lung. Shou Lung forces invade T’u Lung but are repulsed. Shou Lung calls these invasions over the next two hundred years the Uncountable Wars, but T’u Lung refers to them as the Major Incursions of the Northern Barbarians in their texts. The writings out of the T’u Lung provinces from this point on refer to Shou Lung as a corrupt empire on the verge of internal collapse. The powerful families in T’u Lung, backing the new emperor, are the Tan, Ho, Wai, and Yang families. They extend their power over the next forty years.
• 1067 DR Year of the Minotaur Paladin: In order to repel the Shou invaders, Emperor Lui in T’u Lung appeals to the secret societies, declaring an amnesty for those organizations that had been previously banned by the Shou, provided they send troops to help in the First Incursion. The combined force, called The Might of the South, routes the northerners at the Battle of Feng Wa Crossing and the Stand of Ninto. The Black Leopard Cult, while neither the largest nor the most popular force on the field, is well represented.
• 1068 DR: Betrayal of the CaHong-Chwi Garrison: Happened in Tien Lun Province.
• 1085 DR: Conflict of the Silver Clouds: Happened in Tien Lun Province.
• 1106 DR Year of the Solemn Halfling: In order to strengthen the ties between the emperor and the barons, Emperor Shin Gisen marries his eldest daughter, Shin Do, to the scion of the Wai Clan, Wai Long Hwa. The festivities were scheduled for high summer but were pushed back by the Fifteenth Incursion, so the wedding occurred in the winter—an unlucky time, according to court seers.
• 1108 DR Year of the Open Chest: Shin Gisen dies in a hunting accident. His son, Shin Rokan, becomes the second emperor of the Lui Dynasty in T’u Lung. Shin Rokan proves to be a less capable commander than his father, for while he blunts the Shou attacks in the Sixteenth Incursion at the Battle of the Blood Plains, he loses a significant portion of the northern territories in the process. The various baronial clans rumble in dissent.
• 1116 DR Year of the Empty Scabbard: Shin Rokan proposes to remove the power of the armies from the barons, increase taxes to pay for the new forces, and demand of all an oath of loyalty to the Lui Dynasty. He is assassinated by Wai Long Hwa, who proclaims himself emperor. The Ho and Tan families form an alliance and secede, as does the Yang Clan. This is the beginning of the “Three Kingdoms” period of T’u Lung history. There are fewer Shou Lung incursions during this period as the corrupt northerners send diplomatic missions to first one, then the other, then the third kingdom, hoping to weaken all and eventually reabsorb them into the Shou Empire.
• 1134 DR Year of the Sylvan Wards: Shin Lu dies after seventy years on the throne in Shou Lung, and is given the deific name of Ying (Eagle). Shin’s son becomes the second Emperor Chin.
• 1140 DR Year of the Knight: The second Emperor Chin of Shou Lung dies of old age and is given the deific name of Tz’u Wei (Hedgehog). His grandson takes the throne as the third Emperor Chin.
• 1148 DR Year of the Angry Sea: The Three Kingdoms of T’u Lung are reunited. Wai Long Hwa is officially recognized as the third emperor of the Lui Dynasty. The Ho and Tan families are defeated in the war, though still powerful. The Yang family is given autonomous control of its lands in a diplomatic settlement. The Maki Clan, a group of upstart barons, gains power during this time by supporting Wai.
• 1153 DR Year of the Remembering Stones: The Twenty-Ninth Incursion of the Shou Lung into T’u Lung. During this conflict, the city of Balanzia is attacked and its walls breached for the sixth time. After provoking an ancient curse, the inhabitants of the city go mad and abandon the place.
• 1158 DR Year of the Blood Tusk Charge: Wai Long dies in his sleep and is succeeded by his son, Wai Long Sun, the fourth emperor in the Lui Dynasty of T’u Lung.
• 1163 DR: Battle of the Hammer: Happened in Tien Lun Province.
• 1169 DR Year of the Earth Shaking: Jo He Ting, a potter of Chedoru, creates a set of magic bowls for the imperial court of T’u Lung. These eight bowls bestow clear thought on those who eat from them, but only for an hour after they are used.
• 1173 DR Year of the Fledglings: The bowls created by Jo He Ting provide no protection from poison, and Emperor Wai Long Sun dies after eating poisoned rice from one of them while seeking an answer to the problem of what to do about ambitious relatives. Wai Long Sun’s cousin, Wai Chu Doang, becomes the fifth emperor of the Lui Dynasty in T’u Lung. He uses the oath of loyalty to raise large, powerful armies, both to contain the baronial clans and to fight Shou Lung. His heavy-handed military solutions to domestic problems earn his reign the name “The Law of Fists.”
• 1180 DR Year of Sinking Sails: The third Emperor Chin of Shou Lung dies and is given the deific name Pao (Panther). He is succeeded by his wife, who rules as the fourth Emperor Chin until his son comes of age two years later.
• 1182 DR Year of the Tomb: The fourth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung steps down and retires to a monastery. Upon her death thirty years later, she is given the deific name Yeh Ying (Nightingale). Her son becomes the fifth Emperor Chin.
• 1206 DR Year of the Sarune: The fifth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung distinguishes himself in battle against the pirates of the Celestial Sea, sacking several havens of the pirates, including the one located on Akari Island. Wa, also hurt by pirate raids, recognizes Shou Lung claims to small islands in the Celestial Sea.
• 1219 DR Year of Prideful Tales: In the Forty-First Incursion recorded by the historians of T’u Lung, Wai Chu Doang leads his troops in the Battle of Tan. They are routed, and the emperor is chased into the T’hai Salt Flats and slain by Shou assassins. Wai Chu Cor, the emperor’s only son, turns back the incursion but dies of wounds suffered in the Battle of Steaming Horses before he can ascend the throne. Wai Chu Doang’s grandson, Wai Juku A’ti, becomes the sixth emperor of T’u Lung.
• 1250 DR Year of the Riven Skull: The fifth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung dies in a hunting accident. His grandson becomes the sixth Emperor Chin. The deceased emperor is given the deific name Yeh Tu (Hare), giving rise to speculation that he was assassinated by a jealous relative.
• 1261 DR Year of Bright Dreams: Wai Juku A’ti dies when an evil spirit steals his soul. Shou Lung wu jen are suspected, and Shou natives are persecuted, though later evidence indicates that a rival family or cult in T’u Lung was responsible. The eldest son, Wai Chi Con, dies in a sailing accident soon afterward, and the second son, the weaker Wai Lo Yan, becomes the seventh emperor of T’u Lung. Wai Lo Yan is young and sickly, taken to fevers and fits for most of his reign. Court politicians and baronial clans prosper through intrigue during this period.
• 1293 DR Year of the Talking Skull: The sixth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung dies of old age and is given the deific name Ch’uan (Dog) for his faithful service to the memories of his forbears. His son becomes the seventh Emperor Chin.
• 1305 DR Year of the Creeping Fang: Wai Lo Yan proves to be one of the most long-lived and competent emperors of the Lui Dynasty in T’u Lung, lasting forty-four years before dying from a particularly vicious fever. His only direct descendant is a daughter. Under tradition dating back to Shou Lung, the daughter would be made emperor, but the T’u Lung nobles bristle at the thought. Instead, the daughter is made regent until Wai Gada Sinzu, Wai Lo Yan’s nephew (through a younger sister), comes of age. The daughter was named Wai Yeh Ying, but is remembered officially as only Wai Lo Yan’s Daughter in texts. Her reign is called The Regency.
• 1308 DR Year of the Catacombs: Wai Gada Sinzu, the nephew, takes the throne as the eighth emperor of the Lui Dynasty in T’u Lung. Wai Yeh Yin disappears soon after. Diplomatic overtures with Shou Lung are made, stabilizing the border and ending the major incursions (though armed forces of the Shou continue to invade, usually seeking criminals of the state who flee south to sanctuary). The Shou consider these wars to be uncountable, but T’u Lung official histories identify no fewer than seventy-four separate invasions (Shou Lung scholars dispute these figures).
• 1311 DR Year of the Fist: The seventh Emperor Chin of Shou Lung dies mysteriously in his sleep. He is given the deific name Hsiao (Owl). His son becomes the eighth Emperor Chin of the Eighth Dynasty.
• 1336 DR Year of the Highmantle/Year of the Dark Dragon: Matasuuri Nagahide becomes the new shogun of Wa. Foreign traders are ordered to leave the country. Unauthorized interaction with foreigners is declared illegal.
• 1337 DR Year of the Wandering Maiden: Government forces slaughter thousands at Juzimura Castle, which has been seized by a coalition of displaced ronin and radical worshippers of Chauntea. After the siege is broken, the shogunate of Wa denounces Chauntea as an illegal deity. Worship of Chauntea is declared an offence punishable by execution.
• 1339 DR Year of the Weeping Moon: The Eighth Emperor Chin of Shou Lung announces the Gathering of Pearls as a goal of his reign. Plans are set in motion to recover lost artefacts and books. Excavations begin in cities that have been noted as capitals. Old territories to the north and west are brought back under imperial control. Contacts with Wa and Kozakura are expanded. The port city of Akkaido on Wa sees an increase in foreign trade, as restrictions limiting interaction with foreigners are somewhat relaxed. The nobles of T’u Lung fear that this effort is an attempt to isolate their nation in the world. In response, T’u Lung opens its doors to traders and establishes its own diplomatic missions to Tabat, Wa, and Kozakura.
• 1349 DR Year of the Bridle: The Puissant Department of Joyful Rediscovery in Shou Lung charges the Ko family with the task of turning Akari Island into a maritime colony and forward base for his Magnificent and Just Majesty’s Fleet.
• 1351 DR Year of the Crown: The shogunate of Wa orders daimyos to raise the moral standards in their provinces. Known and suspected adulterers are executed, waitresses are banned from teahouses, and luxury items are forbidden to the lower classes.
• 1352 DR Year of the Dragon: After the birth of two daughters (who cannot take the throne, except as regents), Wai Gada Sinzu’s wife gives birth to twin sons, named Wai Anku and Wai Soreti. Various factions, families, and cults in T’u Lung begin taking sides, sending gifts to one son or the other.